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Oldspeak happiness: a review of the film Happy

05 Jan 2012 | Ben Irvine

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Charm works wonders; which is why persuasion is often sweetened
with entertainment. Examples of this can readily be found in
theatre, literature, cinema, song, comedy, political broadcasting,
and, of course, advertising. The film Happy belongs
in this broad tradition, but its cast of characters is anything but
stereotypical, especially when compared to onscreen protagonists
today. Instead of the usual figures of "inspiration" - pouting
actors, fawning politicians, grinning goons selling car insurance -
Happy introduces us to pensioners from Okinawa, Danish co-housing
inhabitants, Namibian Bushmen, a disfigured former debutante from
America, a surfer from Brazil, an Indian rickshaw driver, an
amateur crab fisherman from Louisiana, and some unusually
down-to-earth academics.

The film enlists all these unglamorous people in order to
explain where happiness comes from. Strikingly, their most potent
tool for the task is their most natural one - their smiles:
genuine, warm, deep, long, enticing smiles. In a culture where
vox-pops keep popping up all over the place, like those
whack-a-moles in the fairground game, it's unusual to see such
lingering earnestness. It makes you pay very close attention.

In doing so, you are reminded of some plain, simple truths,
which many of us had forgotten amid the distracting sensory
bombardment of modern life: enduring happiness comes from such
staples as supportive families, friendly communities, calm
mindfulness, regular exercise, enjoying food in company, helping
others, and savouring the beauty of the natural world. All of which
- note - are relatively inexpensive, if not cost-free.

Note, also, that we're not usually reminded of any of this. The
psychology of human admiration is somewhat trigger-happy, a fact
which consumerism exploits, day in day out, in persuading us to
part with our money. Typically, a happy-looking person is paraded
before our captivated eyes, and we instinctively resolve to emulate
whatever they are doing at the time. Driving a big car. Carrying a
designer handbag. Drinking an expensive bottle of wine. Much of
human behaviour is associative, and, unless we are given good
reason to do otherwise, we'll keep pressing levers when we're
promised rewards. The problem is, many of these "rewards" not only
fail to make us happy, they actually make us unhappy, through
encouraging futile one-upmanship rather than sociability.

Watching Happy gives us reason to pause. The experience is like
waking up from a caffeine-fuelled nightmare - one in which you were
half-conscious, albeit manically suggestible. Real happiness, we
rediscover, is delightfully normal; nothing we didn't know about
already, deep-down; it is a nostalgic feeling, which we can
amplify, any time we like, into real and present pleasures. We are
like the character 'Winston' in George Orwell's dystopian novel
1984, inundated by phoney promises of happiness, a 'newspeak'
version which is in fact a big lie; yet, unlike him, we can choose
to embrace oldspeak happiness, the real thing, instead.

In reminding us of this, director Roko Belic's Happy is a hugely
inspiring film. Its powerful effect was in evidence on the evening
it was screened by Cambridge University's Well-being Institute. In
the discussion session, the atmosphere was exceptionally warm,
relaxed and friendly - as it was during an impromptu meal
afterwards which was enjoyed by an enthusiastic group of strangers
who wanted to carry on chatting late into the night. It was as if
the characters in Happy had shared with us their relaxed sense of
companionship. We must keep that mood moving.

Action for Happiness first screened Happy in London in October
2011. Members are now putting on local screenings in community
venues and cinemas all around the country and beyond. Find out how
you could put on a local
screening.

On 11 Feb 2012, hundreds of venues across the world will be
screening Happy. Find out more, including how to host your own
screening at World Happy Day.